Bleach: New York state of mind
by Zwinky
Summary: Having just moved to New York, Aria Rose just wants to live a normal life. Go out, attend her new classes at Julliard and maybe meet a handsome boy or two. Still, she knew her life life would never turn out the way she wanted, but when red-headed Ichigo Kurosaki crosses her path, things seems to go even worse than she had expected. PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW :) (SORRY, HORRIBLE SUMMARY)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own bleach or any of the characters (except for the ones I make up). Don't really understand how the whole disclaimer thing works, hope this is right.**

Chapter 1:

"I hate Monday morning"

Those were the first Aria Rose muttered as she lugged herself from her nice warm bed. Even thought the heater had been on all night, she still felt a chill creep down her spine. Anxious to be warm again she wasted no time stripping down and jumping into the shower.

Thirty short minutes later she had pulled on her customary name-brand light denim jeans, light blue knitted sweater and creamy brown leather ankle boots. Her heels clicked on the stone floor as she moved around in the kitchen, desperately looking for something that would taste amazing, but wouldn't involve a lot of cooking.

When she finally decided on a plain eggs and bacon breakfast she sat down, pulling her phone out before she started eating. Even though it was only 9 o'clock in the morning, Aria already had a voice mail from a certain Jane Rose. The woman just wouldn't give her a single bloody moment of peace to just enjoy her food.

Putting the message on speaker phone, she started to eat her breakfast. "Morning dear" her mother's voice started. The whole 'dear' part wasn't actually directed at Aria, it was simply how her mother greeted everyone, not that it mattered to her. "I do hope you're doing all right. Remember that school starts next week, please be sure that you don't catch a cold..." Aria started to block out the sound of her mother's voice.

It wasn't that she didn't appreciate her mother calling her, but it seemed to be more out of duty than actually wanting to speak to her daughter. Aria had gotten use to it a long time ago, just as she had gotten used to living on her own since moving to New York City only a month ago she thought as she started eating, the voice mail droning on in the background.

It had taken a lot of persuading to get her parents to let her go, but after spinning the most ridiculous story she could possibly think of, they let her go. Even though her parents had picking out the area, apartment and room, at least she wasn't stuck at home anymore.

"O, and dear, remember to keep practicing. Just because your father and I can't be there to keep an eye one you, it doesn't mean we won't realise it sooner or later. It's a great honour to be accepted at Juilliard, don't throw it away" was how to voice mail finally ended, how most of the voice mails always ended. No "I love you honey" or "Have fun in New York", all she ever got was a reminder that she had to do as what was expected of her.

Aria picked up her phone and shoved it into her back pocket. She was fully aware that it was an honour to be accepted at one of the greatest music schools in the world, but that didn't mean either her mother or her father had to remind her every single day. Putting her plate in to the washing machine –she only turned it before she went to bed at night- she went into the living room to go practice the piano.

That was how her mornings always started except on the occasional Sunday, but only when she truly didn't feel like practising. At least she enjoyed it. After she had finished her scaled, the only part of practising she didn't like, she started playing rather than practicing. For some reason she always felt the need to play Chopin's Nocturne in E-flat Major.

After the first few notes had sounded she stopped thinking, only doing. Her fingers moved over the notes without her forcing them to, seeing as she didn't need to. Everything she's every played had been from memory, maybe not at first but after playing it a few times she hadn't even bothered opening her sheet music.

It ended much sooner that she would have liked it to; pulling her out of the trance she had fallen into. In and out of her trance she continued to shift for about another two hours, playing music that ranged from Scarlatti to some unknown contemporary artist. When her arms started to ache she finally decided to close the piano and stretched her legs, walking out onto the balcony.

A day hadn't passed that she hadn't admired the view, but who wouldn't have from the 33rd floor of any building. Cool air filled her lungs, speeding up the blood in her veins. When she was finally feeling fully awake she grabbed her coat, gloves and scarf. Even though it was amazing living so high up, it meant that she had to five minute in just for walking down stairs, even with elevators.

The lobby was quite as usual, only Aria and a few other business men. She had to admit, even after a moth living in the apartment building it still struck her how fancy it was. Most people would think it was a hotel by just looking at it from outside.

"Good morning Miss Rose, might I call upon a taxi for you this chilly morning?" the doorman, Franz asked her. The moment she first spoke to the old doorman, when she was first arrived in New York, she had instantly had a connection with him. She knew that the 'type' of people living with her in the building weren't the type to pay attention to the help, but she didn't mind standing out. Not when old Franz was the only person who could hold a decent conversation.

"No thank you Franz, I'm simply going down the street" Aria replied with a smile. Franz nodded his head. "Tell me, Miss Rose, are you aware that your new neighbour will be arriving today?" he asked as she stepped outside onto the side walk. She stopped and raised an eyebrow, "I hadn't even known that my last one had left" she said. Of course that was a lie; she was fully aware of the reason for her neighbour's sudden up and leaving

"O yes, poor mister Lancaster, I still wonder how it is his wife found out about the affair" Franz said, barely able to contain the smile spreading across his face. "Hay," Aria said, lifting her hands above her head "I would have let continue the affair all he wanted to, but their late-night meetings were starting to cause sleepless nights" she shuddered, hugging herself tightly.

"Have you got any scoops on the new comer?" she asked Franz once she had recovered from her little trip down memory lane. Franz looked around, almost as if to see if someone was watching them, then he spoke "I heard it's a young man, about a year older than you" he said "A smart one to, got a scholarship to study medicine at NYU".

She thought about it for a moment, it would be nice for her to have someone remotely her age living in the building. She thanked Franz for the heads-up before starting her walk toward her favourite coffee shop down the street. That, she thought, was the best thing about living in the city. Everything you needed was all in one place, even her school was walking distance from her apartment.

Another wonderful thing about the city was the crowds. Not many people in the world liked crowds, but to Aria it second as a cover. When there were so many people, she couldn't get a good look at everyone, and no one could bother her or get to her. She knew it was strange, but that's how she preferred it.

It wasn't long before she arrived at her favourite spot. She didn't really know why it was that she felt the need to go to the same cafe every single time, but there she was again. And as always she ordered a Red Cappuccino, without out honey, rather two sugars. The only thing she decided to do differently was to sit down outside the shop, for no apparent reason.

Cautiously she blew on the steam, holding the cup in her hands until the heat soaked through her gloves. It tasted as it always did, but the chilly air added to the effect. Then and there she decided that she would sit outside every time she visited. Some might have found the early morning sound noisy, but Aria found simply found it charming, something she never heard out in the country side.

After she had finished her cup and paid the bill she took out the shopping list she had made before leaving her apartment. There wasn't much on, since someone usually delivered her grocery at the beginning of each week- another one of her parent's conditions. But seeing as she didn't like the food they sent over, she usually bought so extra things and hid them away for special occasions.

It happened while she was walking further than the street.

She felt a hand gently on her shoulder, but thanks to the numbing sensation it left she instantly, she decided to ignore it. "Excuse me" a woman's voice said. It was a faint, almost hesitant, voice. Luckily by then she had learned that if you didn't react then they would go away, but this one didn't intend to leave soon.

Aria felt the woman follow her all the way to the convenience store, stood behind her as she bought her few items and then followed her back home. Just before her apartment building Aria made a sharp turn, into what she hoped was an empty alley. When her hopes were confirmed she walked until she reached the end before placing her bag on the ground.

"You know, people will think I'm crazy if you come up to me in public?" she said to the woman who had not so surprisingly followed her into alley. Aria placed one hand on her hip, not bothering to hide her annoyance. "Well? What do you want?" Aria demanded, getting straight to the point.

She knew she was being unreasonable, harsh even, but they always did the same thing. That's why she liked big crowds, at least then she could lose them somehow, but it would have happened sooner or later. She knew she wouldn't be able to dodge them forever, but with the amount of people living in New York she had hoped that they would have gone to someone else. She never did understand how they always seem to find her, did she smell different or what?

The woman looked at her for a second before moving closer, seeming to be at a loss for words. This wasn't helping Aria's growing irritation. When the woman, not seeming able to form a coherent thought, reached out and tried to take Aria's hand. Aria, already seeing it coming, moved away, she wasn't about to let the woman touch her again.

"Listen, I haven't got all day, what's your problem?" Aria asked again, but again the woman simply looked at her with sad eyes. It almost made Aria sad, almost. Unfortunately the cold, hard truth was that no matter how sad they were, all they did was through their problems at Aria, then wait for her to fix it. Simply put, she had grown tired of it all. That didn't seem to bother them at all though.

There was always something or other, ranging from the left the bath tub running to they never got to tell the love of their lives how they felt. What about her? What about Aria? She also had things she had to do; didn't that mean anything to them?

Unfortunately the dead never seemed to care half as much as she did.

* * *

**I would just like to add, I have never in my entire life been to America, so please don't judge if I get the details about the city and school life wrong. I promised I did research, but it's hard. Really hard.**

**Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter of my second fan-fiction :)**

**Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

"I hate flying"

Those were the first words Ichigo Kurosaki muttered as he heavily leaned against one of the pillars as he waited for his luggage to make its way around the rotator belt. He didn't actually understand why, he had felt fine during the lift off and the entire flight. Must have been the food, everyone had warned him about the food.

When it seemed that most of the people had collected their luggage, Ichigo moved to pick his own up. He hadn't brought much; most of his luggage had been delivered to his new apartment before he had even left Japan.

Lugging his back pack and one bag over his shoulder, he made for the exit. His father had given him very vague instructions for what he had to do on his arrival, but Ichigo was use to his father's way of doing things. First he needed to hail a taxi, something he had not often needed to do in Karakura Town.

Readjusting his bags he walked over to the nearest taxi. Luckily thedriver – lor who Ichigo assumed was anyway- had seen him and called over "Taxi?". Ichigo nodded once before placing his luggage into the man's expecting palm. Once inside the driver asked him where he wanted to go. "Um, 10th avenue, Midtown please" he said, hoping it made sense to the driver.

With a nod the driver took off. "So, where you from?" he asked after a few minutes of silence. "Karakura Town" Ichigo replied, but upon seeing the man's confusions he added "Japan". The driver raised an eyebrow "You don't look very Japanese" he commented. Ichigo had been told that a few times since leaving Japan. "My mother was German, seems I had gotten her looks" Ichigo said, looking out of the window.

Ichigo and the driver continued to do the whole interview style conversation all the way to the city. It was around 12 o'clock when they finally reached the apartment building. Ichigo paid his fair and got his luggage from the trunk of the taxi.

Waving a final goodbye to Danny, the taxi driver, he went up to the building. It was huge, that much was obvious. He was wondering what it was Urahara had to have done to get him such a fancy place when a man walked up to him. "Good day Sir, might I be of any assistance to you?" the friendly old doorman asked Ichigo, a genuine smile on his face. "Um, yes. My name's Ichigo Kurosaki, I just moved here today..." Ichigo started to say, but was cut off by the doorman. "Agh, Mr. Kurosaki, welcome to New York. Your belongings have all been sent up to your room, all you have to do is check in at the reception and you'll be good to go".

Ichigo thanked the doorman before stepping into the seriously lavish lobby. The process of getting his room key went fairly quick and 20 minutes later he was standing in front of his new room. Taking a nervous breath, he slid the key into the lock. It opened easily, only a slight noise came from the door's hinges as Ichigo pushed it open.

The apartment appeared to have a total of three rooms- a bedroom, bathroom and giant open space that double as a kitchen and living room. Not that the living area was cramped, the space was big enough that about twenty people could fit comfortably. Dropping his bags in his room, which was also very big, he went back into the living room and out onto the balcony.

The view was amazing, the entire city stretching out in front f his eyes. There truly was nothing like it. All of Ichigo's fears evaporated while he stood there, every single moment he spent worrying about living on his own so far from home slipping from his mind. The only two things he didn't let slip were the reasons he was there in the first place.

Slipping back inside, Ichigo decided to start unpacking. There wasn't much that needed unpacking either, all the furniture came with the apartment. All he had to unpack was all his clothes and mementos from home- he wasn't much of a decorator. Ichigo decided to take his time, not seeing any immediate reason to rush.

So when, around 2 o'clock, he couldn't possibly arrange and rearrange anything anymore, he decided it was time for a walk.

It had gotten colder since he had arrived the morning. Pulling his scarf tighter around his neck he quickened his pace, hoping that he'd get warmer when his blood started pumping. Luckily he knew where he was going; the doorman had told him there was a coffee shop down the street that one of the other tenants said was very nice.

He quickly found the place. It wasn't exactly the fanciest place, but there was a certain quality to it that made it feel homey. Seeing as he wasn't much of a coffee drinker, he decided to just check out the menu for future reference.

After he had done that he decided that maybe he had to go back to his apartment, sure it hadn't been much of an expedition, but it was too cold to go any further anyway. Taking his time, he started to head back, making sure to have a good look at his surroundings again. He had wanted to go see the university, but the crisp air was starting to bite at him.

_This sucks_, Ichigo thought, _I still have another two hours to get past_. Before he could even blink he was already back at the apartment building. He greeted the doorman before going in the lobby, deciding that maybe he could have a look around the building before going up to his room.

An hour later he had found that only the lowest and highest floor of the building didn't have rooms. On the ground floor you could find everything from a small convenience store (which was ridiculously over-priced) to a gym with an indoor pool. Then, at the top floor, was the lounge and outer pool. Both of these he had only glimpsed from outside, since the pool was closed because of the cold and the lounge only opened after 6 o'clock.

An hour, just an hour before the meeting time. For some reason it felt like forever, maybe it was nerves, he didn't really know what to expect. They had pretty much thrown him into the deep side, sending him to New York alone. He really needed to find something to do. He was about to turn on the television when there was a loud crash from outside. Ichigo was on his feet before the sound even silenced.

He reached the door, threw it opened and leaped into the hallway.

He caught his breath.

Lying almost in front of his door was a girl, likely the same age as him. He couldn't really see her face since it seemed to be plastered into the floor, but at least she had pretty hair. Long and dark brown, with that shine that only girls were able to produce.

Regaining his senses his senses he reached for ward to pull her up. "Are you okay?" he asked, hoping she wasn't unconscious. Slowly the girl sat up, the back of her head facing Ichigo. "Ow" she muttered, rubbing a hand to her forehead. It seemed she had been carrying a grocery bag since its contents were flung across the floor.

Moving around her, he crouched down and extended his hand again. She seemed to realise someone was in front of her and looked up. "Hi..." the words seemed to slip from his lips, nothing else would make sense thanks to the way she was looking at him. "Hello" she said, looking more than a little confused.

Slowly Ichigo pulled her to her feet, but when she swayed he put his free hand on her hip. "Wow there, are you okay?" he asked, making sure his grip wasn't hurting her. "Um yeah, I'm just a little dizzy..." she said before swaying again. Ichigo had already come the conclusion that she had a minor concussion, so when she started to fall again he simply dipped down and puller her into his arms.

"I think you need to sit down" he said "do you want me to take you to your room?". She seemed to understand what he was saying since she pulled her handbag onto her lap and muttered "Key" quietly. Letting down her legs he used his free hand to search her handbag. Luckily there wasn't much in it so he found the key almost instantly.

For some reason he felt a smile creep onto his face when he saw that they were neighbors. Swinging her back into his arms he walked to her door. With a little trouble Ichigo managed to open the door. The layout of the room was exactly the same as his so he had no trouble taking her to her room and putting her in the bed.

He didn't think it would be necessary to take her to a hospital; some sleep was all she needed. Even though he felt a little uncomfortable he took of her and shoes extra jackets then went into the hall and gathered her groceries. After putting the perishables in the fridge he left her keys on the counter and checking to see if she was asleep, and breathing, he went back to his apartment.

He had been so busy taking care of the girl and her things that he hadn't even realised that his hour had already passed. He rushed to his room and pulled a glass vial from his closet, the little green pill clanking against the glass as he went to the living room.

Then he waited.

It wasn't that long, actually, before a white light started to manifest itself in the middle of Ichigo's living room. He took it as his queue and opened the vile, tipping its contents down his throat. There was the sound of a sudden blast of wind and then Ichigo was looking down at his body. "Please behave yourself" he muttered before turning to face the light.

Slowly a door started to appear. Ichigo reached forward and opening it, a bright light exploding from inside. Covering his eyes he stepped through the door, hoping it would take him where Urahara had said it would.

Suddenly the light disappeared and Ichigo could open his eyes. When he could see properly he found himself in a courtyard, a very well kept courtyard for that matter. At first glance he thought he was alone, but when he turned to his side he found a woman dressed in black. She smiled when he looked at her then extended her hand. "Welcome Ichigo Kurosaki" she said.

"Welcome to the Soul Reaper's New York branch"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Aria had three clues as to why she knew something was different when she woke up.

Sunlight filtering through her open curtains was the first clue. She never left her curtains open at night, because the guy cleaning the windows in the morning was always conveniently cleaning her window when she woke up.

The next clue was of course when she pulled the covers back and found that she was still wearing the clothes she had worn the day before. Finally the third clue was the fact that she couldn't remember getting to her room, eating, showering and getting ready for bed. That was sorta a big clue.

What she could remember, other than her little dead friend, was something orange, and being carried somewhere.

Aria started to rise from bed, but immediately fell back down when a massive pain shot through her head, leaving her breathless for a second. "Ow" she muttered once she was able to touch the place where the pain had come from.

Slowly she sat up and got out of bed, sluggishly walking to the bathroom. Once in front of a mirror she was able to have a closer examination. A giant purplish blue mark had spread across her fore head, proving that she must have fallen somewhere between the lobby and her apartment.

Opening the cabinet above her sink Aria searched for a bottle of pain killers that she knew was there. When she finally found it she went to the kitchen and made herself some cereal so she could drink the pills. Then she started to think.

What happened yesterday? She recalled helping the old lady find a necklace that she had wanted to leave to her daughter, but had lost the last moment. It had taken a very long time to sort out so Aria was glad that she had left her shopping in the lobby. That made things even stranger when she realised she was staring at her shopping from across the counter.

Finally she decided to retrace her steps.

She had come home late and must have claimed her shopping bags in the lobby. After that she remembered going up the elevator and getting off at her floor. After that she might as well have been asleep since she couldn't remember anything.

Instead of worrying about it she decided to focus on what she could remember. The orange. It was possible that she had imagined it, but she was also sure that she had seen it. Maybe the orange had something to do with the reason she was in her apartment. Thinking about it made her head hurt so she decided to go take a shower instead.

The water seemed to sooth some invisible part of Aria's mind. She showered until the water started to cool before finally getting out and drying off. She had unconsciously decided that she wouldn't go out for the day, so she pulled out a pair of baggy pants and a loose fitting sweater along with a thick pair of socks.

She was about to turn on the TV when there was a knock on her front door. She check the clock on the wall, it was only 9 o'clock in the morning, who would visit her that early? Putting the remote back down she got up and went to the door. When she got to it there was another knock, a bit more persistent the second time around.

Slowly she opened the door, first checking that the safety chain was secure. "Hello?" she asked through the barely large enough slit. At first she couldn't see anything, but suddenly something orange popped up in front of her eyes. "Hi" the orange object said, soon appearing to be attached to a body. "I'm sorry if I woke you, I just wanted to check and see if you're okay" the young man said, sheepishly putting one hand behind his head.

"Hold on for a second" Aria said before shutting the door, removing the safety chain and opening the door again. "Do you know what happened to me last night?" she asked, almost a bit too hostile. The young man looked at her curisousily before answering "Wow, you really did hit your head hard. Maybe I should have taken you to the hospital" he said, putting a hand over his mouth.

He seemed to notice Aria's confused face and decided to answer her question. "I don't really know what happened to you last night. I was in my apartment when I heard a loud crash. I then found you lying on the ground outside my room, practically out cold" he said.

Aria took the information in, trying to figure out whether he was telling the truth or not. "So you're the one who brought me back to my apartment?" she asked. The young man nodded his head "Yeah, I live next door to you. The name's Ichigo Kursosaki" he said, extending one of his hands so Aria could shake it.

Hesitantly she took it, "Aria" she said. He seemed nice enough, Aria thought, but it was too soon for her to truly have an opinion about him since she barely knew him.

Aria took a step back into her apartment. "Would you like to come in?" she asked, gesturing with her one hand for him to enter. Ichigo hesitated, but finally decided it seemed to be okay. He walked in and Aria closed the door behind him.

"Coffee or tea?" she asked once he had was inside. "Um, tea please" he said, looking a little lost where he stood, as if he didn't really what to do next. "Okay, why don't you have a seat" Aria said while removing the things she needed from the cupboard. She hadn't made tea in a while so she hoped it wasn't that bad.

"I'm sorry if I inconvenienced you last night" Aria said after she placed the tea pot and two cups on the island between her and Ichigo. After she had sat down she took the pot and poured them both some tea. "O, no. I have to admit I was shocked when I found you, but I'm glad you're not seriously hurt" Ichigo said as he took the sugar, adding two spoons to his tea. Aria did the same, but added milk too, she hated dark tea.

"That's good to hear" she admitted after a sip of her tea. "I guess I should thank you for bringing me back here and putting me in bed" she continued, examining him properly while he was drinking his tea. Ichigo really wasn't that bad looking, in fact, Aria thought he was unexpectedly attractive for a guy with orange hair.

"So, thank you Ichigo" Aria said, giving him a genuine smile. He smiled back before taking another sip of his tea. They sat in silence for a moment, enjoying the tea. Aria wanted to do something to thank him, but she had no idea what he would like. She figured she might as well ask him, it wasn't like she was asking him out on a date or something.

"Um, Ichigo. I would like to make it up to you" Aria started to say, hoping her cheeks weren't as red as she thought they were. If Ichigo noticed he didn't let on, he simply put up his hands and said "O no! You really have to do that, it's not like you caused me any trouble or anything" he said, sounding incredibly sincere. "

Tell you what, why don't we say you owe me one. If I ever need some one's help, I'll come get you" Ichigo said when he saw Aria's hurt expression. It wasn't exactly what she had wanted, but at least she felt a little better. It didn't matter how many times he said that she hadn't caused him trouble, Aria knew it was still a bother.

"Fine" Aria sighed, throwing her hands up in defeat "I guess that's fair, but don't forget Ichigo Kurosaki, it's mean to make a lady wait" she said. Even Aria, who had never really had a boyfriend, knew she was flirting a little. Who could blame her? The longer Ichigo sat in front of her, the more attractive he became to her. She wanted to see him more.

Ichigo laughed. "I would never" he said, but Aria couldn't tell whether he was flirting back or simply being polite. Something told her he was pretty dense when it came to girls, or he was really good at not noticing.

Another few moments passed while they drank they're tea. "So, when did you arrive?" Aria asked when the silence became too much for her. "Yesterday" Ichigo answered "And you? How long have you lived in New York?" he asked politely. "O no, I'm not from around here. I moved into this apartment about a month ago" Aria said "I wanted to get used to being in the city".

Ichigo nodded in understanding "I wanted to come earlier, but there were some things I had to settle back home first" he said. "O, where're you from?" Aria asked, not really able to place his features or his accent. Now that she thought about it, he didn't really have an accent either, his English was perfect.

"I know I don't look it, but I'm from Japan" Ichigo replied to her amazement, she had to admit she wasn't expecting that. "That must be so cool, I've always wanted to go there. Where did you grow up?" Aria asked, completely interested in what he had to say. "I've lived in Karakura Town my entire life" Ichigo said, happy to see that she wanted to know more about his home country, not many people really cared about it.

"Why do you want to go to Japan" he asked after another sip of tea. Aria thought about it for a moment before answering "The music. I love contemporary piano, and Japanese music just has something to it that you don't often hear on classical or romantic music" she said, speaking from the heart.

"You play?" Ichigo asked after she explained. "Yeah, um, a little I guess" she said, embarrassed for some reason. It wasn't like she hadn't been asked the question, but for some reason she was scared of disappointing him. "Would like to hear?" she asked, trying to hide her reddening face behind her hair. "Yes" he answered faster than she had expected "I would love to actually".

Aria got up and motioned for Ichigo to follow her to the living room where her piano stood. "It's beautiful" Ichigo said and walked closer to inspect the instrument. It made Aria happy to hear him say that, to know that he didn't just think of a piano as something to make noise.

After Ichigo had taken a seat on the couch, Aria sat down on the piano bench, making herself comfortable. "What would you like to hear?" Aria asked, not really sure what genre he would prefer to hear. "Anything's fine. Why not the one in front of you?" he said. Aria looked at the music in front of her and saw it was a piece of Mozart. It wasn't that she didn't like it, but it was one that her parents had picked out, so she wasn't particularly fond of it.

"Okay" she said and started playing.

After the first page she started to get a bit more comfortable, easing into the notes that her fingers pressed. But she still didn't feel the music the way she did when she played something she had picked out herself. Once she had finished she turned around on the seat, facing Ichigo.

"What's the verdict?" she asked. Ichigo sat quietly for a moment. "It's not that it wasn't amazing, you're unbelievably good Aria, but it looked like you weren't enjoying it" he said to her complete and utter astonishment. "Play again, but play something you love this time. Play something you would want to hear when you visit Japan" he said.

Aria sat in shocked silence for a moment. No one had ever realised that she wasn't enjoying herself. She had always just played what her parents had asked for, not really trying to show what she truly could do. She nodded and turned back to the piano.

She didn't even have to think when her hands started to glide over the piano. She had instinctively picked Joe Hisaishi's Nocturne. It was an incredibly sad piece and not all that difficult, but Aria relished in it. She loved how every note came together perfectly and how beautiful it was. If her parents saw her playing it they would probably move in to insure she wouldn't play it ever again.

When the song finished Aria sat a moment longer before turning around. She didn't even asked what Ichigo thought of it, because the smile on his face told her everything she needed to know. He had loved it. "I think you know what I'm thinking so I'm not going to say a word" Ichigo said before standing up and taking his tea cup back to the kitchen. Aria followed and placed her cup next to his in the sink, she would wash it later.

It was the first time that they had actually stood close to each other since he arrived. Leaning against the counter next to Ichigo, she pushed her hair behind her ears. "Did last night's fall cause that?" Ichigo asked, pointing to the bruise on her head. She reached up and touched a tentative finger to it. Pain shot through her head again "Yeah" she answered.

Ichigo reached to brush some more hair away. "May I?" he asked when she pulled away all of the sudden. Aria stepped forward so that Ichigo could look at her head. "This is going to take a while to heal up" he said, lightly tracing the edges of the blue mark with his fingers. "You seem to know a lot about injuries" Aria stated, more to herself than to Ichigo really. "I'm studying Medicine at NYU, and I have a lot of personal experience" he said, giving a little laugh before he stepped away from her.

"O, do a lot of sport?" Aria asked curiously. He definitely looked like he did, but he wasn't built like someone who did intense sport training, to lean for that. "Yeah, something like that" he said, shrugging a bit.

"Anyway, I have to go now" Ichigo said as he headed for the door "But it was really nice to meet you Aria" he said when they reached the front door. "Yeah, you too Ichigo" Aria replied, not really wanting him to leave just yet. They stood there looking for each other before Ichigo slipped from the room, leaving Aria alone.

Slowly she shut the door and leaned against it, listening to her heart beating wildly.


End file.
